Don (William Sadler) and Vince (Bill Paxton) both work as firemen in Fort Smith, Arkansas, when something that would change their lives happens. During a rescue attempt, an old man gives them a map and some old newspaper clippings an instant before he is engulfed by flames. The map turns out to be the location of several gold artifacts stolen from a church some forty years earlier. The loot is hidden somewhere in a now-abandoned building in St. Louis, and Don and Vince hurry to get the gold for themselves. Unfortunately, a gang of drug dealers headed up by King James (Ice T) and Savon (Ice Cube) pick the same building to dispose of an unwanted associate. Both Vince and Don witness the murder and the thugs see them. They have just enough time to kidnap King James' brother and hole up in a corner room. A desperate game of cat and mouse ensues. Each group tries to outguess the other, Vince and Don being outnumbered both in weapons and manpower. TRESPASS is a frantic psychological study of greed and control, but some flat acting on the part of Vince and Don and a fairly predictable plot line keep the movie from being great.

As might be expected from an action/adventure movie, the language and gratuitous violence go far beyond the bounds necessary for realism. At least six people are fatally shot in the course of the movie, the majority killed with automatic weapons. Another man is stuck in the neck with a hypodermic needle full of cocaine. Several graphic fight scenes show men getting kicked in the head, the stomach and beaten with boards. One man falls to his death from the roof, hitting a stair-railing before landing on top of a car. During the parts of the movie that aren't immersed in violence, abusive language takes over. The f-word is heard a whopping 113 times, with the s-word close behind at 77. Even regular profanity occurs 17 times. Interestingly, the more space taken up by senseless profanity in a script, the less available space for words with real meanings. For its excessive violence and incessant use of bad language, TRESPASS does not even deserve a warning citation - it should go directly to jail without passing go.